How to visually enlarge a room

Small-sized rooms are more common in Khrushchev-era apartment buildings, but even modern apartments suffer from rooms with a small square footage. They can be made visually larger through proper design. A whole range of techniques using color, light and furniture arrangement will help turn a cramped room, which is “stuffy”, into a quite decent room of modest, and not ugly small sizes. The first thing you should pay attention to is the wall decoration. Among the variety of materials, wallpaper has never lost its popularity. Every year their range is generously replenished with new colors, patterns and prints. A wide selection is the main advantage of wallpaper. They are easy to work with even for beginners who are taking on repairs for the first time. Modern materials used in the manufacture of wallpaper are suitable even for small kitchens and cramped bathrooms. They are moisture resistant and easy to clean. Let's find out how to choose wallpaper for a small room.

Basic rules or how to visually enlarge a room

Small rooms can become visually larger after using accessible optical illusions - optical illusions. Even a too cramped space can be made more expanded using a combination of such well-known techniques as creating harmony of colors, play of light, setting up a system of mirrors, selecting wallpaper with the right pattern, and using photo wallpaper for wall cladding.

Small rooms can be made visually larger

Also, do not forget about the precise arrangement of furniture, decorations and other interior items. Even the use of soft and light, cozy and homely textiles will help save the situation and play a role in realizing the idea of visually enlarging the room.

There are several principles for visually increasing space that designers constantly use:

Light shades on the walls and floors give visual width and height, while dark colors will help make the room a little smaller visually.

Light walls and floors visually expand the space

You can divide a room into zones using a line - zoning involves the use of different finishing materials.

Zoning space in a small apartment

Contrasting spots reduce space.

You should not place bulky, massive objects in small rooms.

For small rooms, avoid massive furniture

You can make a room larger with a minimum number of interior items.

Interior in minimalist style

In general terms, you already know how to visually increase the volume of an apartment, but today we’ll look at recommendations for small rooms.

Now you should consider in more detail the question of how to enlarge a room in order to better understand the principles and take note of some useful tips.

Furniture for small apartments: how to save usable space?

With the help of furniture, you can also, if not expand the space, then at least use it wisely, so that each item is for the benefit of the design, and does not take up useful space. To do this, you need to think in advance about what is really necessary and important in the apartment, and what should be abandoned. There are many different multifunctional exhibits on the market that will easily fit into both classic and more modern interiors.

Tips from professional designers on which pieces of furniture should be selected to visually expand the room and which should not:

Storage systems should be chosen very carefully. It is necessary to abandon low shelves, chests of drawers, and wardrobes in various parts of a small room or oversized apartment. It is better to order a wardrobe based on an individual design, which will fit perfectly into the layout. It must meet certain requirements: be from floor to ceiling, have a mirror surface on the doors, be equipped with a variety of shelves inside for storing all things, and have lighting on the cornice.

A custom-designed wardrobe with a mirror wall greatly increases the space of the room

A sleeping place is an integral part of a room for a night's rest. You should choose a bed with a lifting mechanism that hides a niche for things. There are also samples with drawers, which are no less practical, convenient and super functional.

A bed with a lifting mechanism and photo wallpaper really make the interior more spacious

No apartment would be complete without a dining area It is worth choosing a small-format sliding table, or even better, a book structure that folds several times and has shelves on the sides. If at home (especially in the studio) you need both a workplace and a surface for eating, then the right decision will be to choose a table model that will be convenient for both eating and performing some related tasks.

An extendable table and a pastel palette save space in a small kitchen

What characteristics should furniture have in a small apartment (general requirements):

light shade (white, milky, beige, etc.);
with glass, metal or mirror surfaces;
in the styles of minimalism, hi-tech and other modern trends;
from non-massive materials without unnecessary bells and whistles;
almost without patterns and complex designs, better - plain;
in one set and one palette, non-contrasting.

Color influence

According to professional designers, the right shade can give a room spaciousness. For this technique to be successful, you must combine the color of the walls with the overall color of the room - you cannot combine too different, flashy shades. Both the walls, the ceiling, and the floor should be selected in the same color scheme. This also applies to interior items, including curtains and furniture.

The walls, ceiling and floor are chosen in the same color scheme

Well-known fact: Different colors not only have an impact on a person, but also have their own special purpose. Shades such as peach, yellow or beige will help add coziness and warmth to the room. Most often, such wallpaper is used in living rooms, since this is where most of the time is spent. A sunny environment will help drive away fatigue and depression.

When choosing your color, you should remember that dark variations will not help solve the issue of visual expansion, but quite the opposite - saturation will take away some of the light, and therefore space.

For a bedroom or children's room, it is better to choose relaxing, soothing motifs. Light pink, blue, and light green colors cope well with this task. Don’t forget about white, an ideal and pleasing color to the eye.

Girl's room in light pink colors

There is a concept of dividing colors into two groups: warm and cold. Warm ones will stimulate a good mood and increased energy. These include red, orange, yellow - it is strictly forbidden to use them in a narrow room. But cold, soothing, harmony-giving blues, whites, greens and light greens will help expand the room. You should not use too bright, saturated colors.

It should be noted that the use of light colors will help in a room with an area of more than eight square meters. If the room is smaller, then if you use too light, cold tones, it will begin to resemble a hospital ward or public toilet. In this case, it is better to use other optical techniques: installing a fresco or photo wallpaper, laying mosaics in light, cool tones. For example, blue colors will help create the effect of moving objects away, and therefore visually expand the space. But warm orange, on the contrary, focuses attention on objects, which means it will make the room narrower.

Living room interior 7 sq.m.

For cold, north-facing rooms, you can use patterns of warm colors and the same texture - this will help make the pattern voluminous and soft. Gold, yellow or orange colors will help create an atmosphere of warmth and comfort. Also, peach and beige will be a great addition to the overall look.

Warm colors will create a warm atmosphere

Don't want to use color schemes? Play with contrast - install a fresco on one wall, made in the same colors as all the walls. But the image should be one tone higher, that is, lighter.

How can you use color nuances to increase the usable area?

Any professional interior artist will note that the simplest solution to visually expand the space of a room is to use the right palette, which will mainly include light colors. You can give spaciousness to a room very simply with the help of finishing, if you “blur” the desired color to almost white, leaving a light shade that is barely perceptible to the eye. The lighter the gamma, the larger the area. However, a pure snow-white color should be introduced into the project with care so that the design does not resemble a hospital ward. If you choose the lightest tone of white without professional advice, then it is better to prefer ivory, ivory or milky - warm nuances. Although cool colors in other desaturated shades will give no less three-dimensional effect. The ideal option would be an integrated approach, where not only the walls and ceiling will be painted in a very light color, but also the furniture, textiles, and decor will match the overall background.

Desaturated shades of these colors will help visually enlarge the rooms:

Living room - light beige, yellowish-olive, apricot.
The bedroom - sky blue, soft light green, muted lilac.
Children's - dusty pink, very light indigo, etc.

Light shades always help to visually expand the space

Wallpaper will help the room “straighten its shoulders”

This recommendation works for both small apartments and spacious houses - any room can be made visually larger with the right wallpaper. When choosing colors, you should take into account factors such as the taste preferences of all residents, their aesthetic tastes, as well as the number of people. In order not to resort to such thorough steps as demolishing partitions between rooms, many designers advise simply changing the wall covering - a wide selection of wallpaper allows you to expand the space in an instant.

Zoning space using wallpaper

Spaciousness and coziness can be given by wallpaper of plain variations with a small, not catchy pattern. It is better to choose pastel colors that give comfort and light. A large drawing in a small room gives the exact opposite effect. To make the room taller, you should use a covering with vertical stripes - this technique is simply irreplaceable for small-sized housing.

Wallpaper with vertical stripes will make the room look taller

A few more tricks using wallpaper that will help you transform even a dimly lit room with a low ceiling.

Pasting the walls with two types of wallpaper - apply a dark color at the bottom and a light shade at the top. To prevent the transition from being so noticeable, you can place a horizontal, noticeable stripe at the junction of the colors.

Pasting walls with two types of wallpaper

Combine wallpaper with other wall covering materials.

Another way to make the room more spacious is to cover one wall with wallpaper with a geometric pattern, and leave the rest plain. This technique involves an optical illusion that makes the room appear larger.

Wallpaper one wall with geometric wallpaper

When using a small pattern, pay attention to the frequency of its repetition - if placed incorrectly and too often, such patterns can cause ripples to appear in the eyes.

Avoid too large designs, as such a coating will spoil the overall impression and reduce the space.

Wallpaper with a multi-colored pattern and border will not help in expansion, but on the contrary, will make the room narrow. The same thing awaits you when pasting with dark colors.

You can expand the area using the following technique: glue a large pattern on one wall, and a smaller pattern on the rest. This option is especially good for rooms cluttered with interior items.

Cover one wall with wallpaper with a large pattern

Don’t forget about the combination of wallpaper with the color and texture of the ceiling. To make the room taller and wider, use only light shades for the ceiling. Gloss overhead will help fill the room with light, but you can also use special baguettes - they can be painted any color.

The influence of texture and texture on spatial perception

Embossed wallpaper is in demand, with the help of which they not only decorate the room, but also make the space more free. Discreet, voluminous models are appropriate in any style and are indispensable for those who prefer the classics.

The walls shine, the shimmer fills the house with light, the walls repel. The effect is enhanced by adding glossy or mirrored ceilings to the finish. You just need to remember that many small furnishings in the interior will double in size.

Complex relief lines distract the visitor’s attention from the volume of the room. A small room looks great when covered with textured wallpaper with small patterns. Such walls are pleasant to the touch and form a sophisticated backdrop. More preferably, the coating is made in a combination of colors.

The most popular textures:

Wool. The surface of the wallpaper reproduces the dense surface of the fabric.
Dust. The surface is fine-grained, a good basis for decoration.
Canvas. The outer layer imitates a porous structure.
Malta. Deliberately sloppy relief over the entire surface.

A coating that imitates brickwork, brick, leather or metal helps to place modern accents and decorate a room with an antique look. Construction materials that can be repainted more than once create an interesting design.

Smooth and textured coatings can be easily combined if you have difficulty choosing.

Techniques for increasing the height of a room

You can raise the ceiling high using such simple techniques in absolutely any apartment or house - now the room will not be “overwhelming” with its homeliness and darkness. We have already talked about possible options for increasing height using wallpaper. But there are several more ways to make the area taller and more spacious.

Having set yourself the goal of making the room visually larger and taller, give up horizontal lines. There should be as few of them as possible - both in the decoration of walls, floors and ceilings, and in other visual planes.

To visually increase the ceiling height, abandon horizontal lines in the interior

If you are at the stage of a deep renovation and are planning to change the floors, then be sure to remove the old wooden ones. Make a new screed on which you can lay more modern floor coverings - this way you can gain a few centimeters.

So that in one of the rooms the transition from low to high is not so clearly visible, you can remove excess space in higher rooms. This compensation effect will smooth out the impression when moving from a low room. Installing suspended ceilings in higher rooms is ideal for this technique.

A suspended ceiling will help remove excess space

Rule 4: pay attention to shine

Even a slight presence of shine on the walls compensates for the lack of volume

In addition to relief, walls in a small room need surfaces that can reflect light. Glossy, iridescent, shiny canvases are just what is needed in such situations.

An ornament shimmering with light visually expands the room

This technique is effective in various manifestations. Canvases with glitter can be used to decorate the entire room, and you can also decorate one or two walls, enhancing the accent.

Textile wallpaper will add chic to any interior

What color canvas should I choose? The colors chosen according to the principle of contrast look most advantageous - gold on medium and dark brown, silver on medium and dark gray, gold on turquoise. The golden pattern on a white background looks no less impressive.

In the photo the wall is decorated with a shiny coating

How much will canvases with glitter cost?

The presence of mirrors along with a shiny finish adds spaciousness.

Wallpaper with glitter is mainly made from textiles. The material looks great, is resistant to sunlight, and environmentally friendly.

Name	Manufacturer	Size	price, rub.
Eijffinger Carte Blanche, non-woven	Holland	0.53x10.00	3700 per roll
KT Exclusive Glam, textiles	Germany	0.69x10.00	2400 per roll
Zuber Blanche de Castille, textiles	France	0.47x1.00	13100 per m/p

Frescoes and photo wallpapers

These finishing materials do an excellent job of visually expanding the walls.

Interesting fact: They started using photo wallpaper to increase space in their homes back in the USSR. In addition, this coating perfectly decorated the room. Unfortunately, the decoration did not last long, as the quality left much to be desired.

But modern frescoes and photo paintings are made using durable, high-quality and wear-resistant materials. The technology for their application has also changed.

It should be noted that photo wallpapers today are works of art with a deep and realistic pattern. Having chosen photo cladding for your room, you can order a specific image - for example, enlarge your photo several times.

Photo wallpaper in the interior of a small living room

Do you prefer a finish that is closer to traditional art? Modern frescoes will also help expand the room. In ancient times, this product not only decorated the walls, but also made them warmer.

Where can you apply wall coverings with frescoes or photo wallpapers? Almost any room will become more spacious, and will also acquire originality and uniqueness: kitchen, children's room, hallway, bedroom, and so on.

Using the right pattern in a room with low ceilings creates the illusion of infinity. For example, when you apply a fresco or photo wallpaper in the form of the sky or clouds to the ceiling, the room will immediately become taller and more spacious.

Frescoes on the walls will help expand the space

Rule 6: Perspective on photo wallpaper

Properly selected photo wallpaper will significantly increase the size of the room

Photo wallpapers and photo wallpapers are different. Therefore, when covering a wall with macro photography of a flower, think about how the parameters of your tiny home will visually decrease. But an image that brings light and perspective is ideal for decorating a wall in a small room.

A paved path leads somewhere into the distance, and yet no one leaves the room

Some tips for hanging photo wallpaper

A few words about how to beautifully hang photo wallpaper:

Remove the old coating, including any remaining adhesive;
Use putty to fill in all the unevenness – for an impeccable result you need a perfectly flat surface;
Apply primer to the wall in two layers to ensure reliable adhesion of the two surfaces;
Lay the photo wallpaper on the floor, face down, and carefully mark it;
Start gluing from a corner or from a window - this will be the starting point;
Avoid drafts when gluing.

The image can also be in black and white

Following my advice, you can hang photo wallpaper with your own hands. Even if you've never done this before.

Light will help

How to visually increase the size of a room using lighting and natural light? This is not at all difficult, and will make even a very small room cozy and spacious. There are several techniques used by designers when creating a visual trick. Again we return to the topic of optical illusion.

When positioned correctly, light visually enlarges the space

Proper use of lighting in a room is an art that greatly enhances the interior design and complements the design of the room. With clever placement of lighting fixtures, flat light creates a new style and visually enlarges the space. Before we move on to lighting fixtures, let's look at natural light sources.

In a miniature apartment with small rooms, you definitely need to get rid of narrow and small windows. Replace them with as large and wide ones as possible so that both north and south window openings let in the maximum amount of sun.

If possible, increase your windows as much as possible.

Natural light will not only make the room appear larger, but will also bring a great mood to all residents and guests of the apartment. At the same time, you can significantly save on electricity, because you will use the maximum amount of daylight, natural light.

A small room will become visually larger if you hang a mirror opposite the window - this will help the sun's rays to reflect from the mirror surface and give the room spaciousness and comfort at the same time.

Mirror surface opposite the window

Of course, the above techniques using sunlight will help to expand the room a little, but you still can’t do without additional artificial decorative lighting. Oddly enough, for small areas a chandelier would be an excellent option - but only with the ability to adjust the height. Thus, lighting will not only provide excellent visibility and comfortable movement, but will also create space. The bright and wide light of the chandelier fits perfectly into the interior of a small room.

Chandelier with height adjustment - a great option for a small room

If you don’t like the prospect of installing a chandelier, you can use another way to visually expand the space - purchase spotlights. Such lighting will be an excellent addition to the chosen interior, and will also be an excellent multifunctional device (some models can operate in several modes, including romantic lighting). Spot fixtures should be placed in the same row, but the distance between each lamp should be determined depending on your wishes. Every centimeter gives the interior its own expressiveness and an original, cozy atmosphere.

Spotlights as a way to expand space

LED or halogen lamps are best suited for small rooms, especially when lighting individual interior parts - bookshelves, paintings, cabinets, and so on. Also, these devices of modern industry have a long service life, consume a small amount of electricity, and also provide excellent illumination of the room. Many of them are installed along the walls, which provides a visual deepening of the room - artificial light is reflected from the walls, and gives just such an effect.

LED lighting along the walls

If there are separate dark areas in the room, you can illuminate them using floor lamps - place the device between massive furniture (armchair and sofa) - a large amount of light will be provided.

A floor lamp will illuminate the dark corners of the room

The uniform installation of ceiling lights will help to visually lengthen the area - the lighting will be perfectly even and will help make the room wider and longer. To prevent light from being absorbed, when installing ceiling light fixtures, you do not need to use dark, non-shiny surface textures. Smooth, glossy, light-colored materials will help increase the amount of light, and therefore expand the room visually.

A glossy ceiling will increase the amount of light

Additional sources of artificial lighting will also help: sconces, small lamps, separate lighting for cornices or beds. LEDs with a bright color (maximum white) will help to completely remove the darkness, which means making the room wider and larger.

Don’t forget to always open the curtains during the day – sunlight not only helps to expand the space, but also improves your mood, gives you vigor and a charge of positive energy.

Features of small rooms

In fact, you can enlarge a small bedroom or living room only by combining it with an adjacent room, be it a balcony or another room. Unfortunately, it is not possible to create a stylish studio in every apartment (not all walls can be dismantled or even partially demolished). In addition to the “physical” increase in area, it can be designed in such a way that the space will seem larger and more spacious. This is just a design trick, an illusion, but it is precisely this that gives a person a feeling of comfort and coziness. Small rooms often have a whole bunch of shortcomings: non-standard shape, poor lighting, low ceilings, window and door openings that are too large or too small.

Room geometry

Depending on the shape, rooms are classified into two types:

Standard. Such rooms have a rectangular or square shape. In the first case, the length should not greatly exceed the width of the room, otherwise the narrow room will be classified in the second group of non-standard ones.
Non-standard. The geometry of the rooms is distinguished by a large number of angles (pentagons, hexagons) or the presence of bay windows, niches, and projections that spoil the architecture of the room and make the space difficult to perceive.

If everything is more or less clear with the standard ones, then it is really difficult to smooth out the irregular geometry of the second type of rooms. To prevent the “irregularity” of the room from being noticeable, it is necessary to select suitable finishing materials. For such rooms, wallpaper in light shades without patterns or prints is more suitable - a classic win-win option that is difficult to go wrong with. This does not mean that you will have to give up design experiments. You can revive the surface of the walls after repairs during decoration using panels, paintings or photographs in frames. Fake decorative round and semicircular arches made of plasterboard will help smooth out the corners. Angular furniture is replaced with unusual ones with smooth lines and mirrored facades.

Illumination

Small rooms, as a rule, have equally small windows. They do not provide the room with the natural light it needs. This oversight can be corrected with the help of artificial light sources, light wallpaper, and mirror surfaces. To make the room lighter and “warmer,” use combinations of pastel shades and brown, white, pink, and peach. A stylish and unusual solution would be to buy wallpaper with a special coating - mineral coating (quartz chips are ideal).

Mirrors, mirrors

Another effective way to increase space in an apartment is to install mirrors.

Interesting fact: In order for the reflection in the mirror to be clear and not distorted, be sure to pay attention to a strictly vertical position. If there is a slight deviation or skew, the picture will not be as desired.

It should be noted that the mirror should not be exposed to direct sunlight - the surface from such a load will quickly darken, become stained and fade. If you respect the science of Feng Shui, then hanging a mirror is also not worth it. According to this ancient teaching, a mirror can take away human energy during sleep.

An excellent option for expanding the room would be to install a large mirror surface opposite the window. You can also enhance the effect of the lamps by installing mirrors behind them - this will add additional depth, which is very necessary in small rooms.

The mirror surface will add additional depth to the room

A mirror hanging opposite a massive lighting fixture will help make an excellent accent on a chandelier and a separate piece of decor or interior design. This way you will make the room not only larger, but also more interesting.

But the most stunning and stunning effect will have a mirror wall - add such a covering to the room, and it will be transformed beyond recognition. Depth, height and width are provided by completely covering the wall from floor to ceiling with a mirror surface.

Mirror wall in the living room interior

Photo wallpaper for a small room

Photo wallpapers have a solid image, panorama or landscape on the surface. Essentially, this is just a very large print, which is generally undesirable to use in small rooms, but there are little design tricks. For example, photo wallpapers that have a perspective will create a false “continuation” of the room, that is, for the viewer it will not end with a wall. Suitable for this role:

A staircase leading into the unknown.
A long pier cutting through the water surface.
A forest path running like a snake ribbon into the sky-high distances.
A city street, firmly ingrained by asphalt into the concrete jungle.

The same method can be used in rooms that do not have windows or have openings that are too small. If the street can only please you with a dull landscape, then why not replace it with a painted one, but more colorful? Photo wallpaper is used to cover an accent wall. It is better to choose the surface that is opposite to the doorway. For cramped rooms, photo wallpapers depicting natural objects are more suitable: the endless sea, a seething waterfall (visually raising the ceiling), a wide field with prickly brushes of ears, a forest bristling with needles of coniferous branches. For eclectic interiors, fusion and ethnic styles, original close-up images of predatory animals or a set of multi-colored house facades in an avant-garde composition are suitable. The color scheme of the painting should correspond to the overall color scheme.

Pay attention to the quality of the drawing. Under no circumstances should the image be flat or lack volume. The “depth” of the painting determines the degree of distortion of space.

Furniture as a way to expand space

What furniture will help visually increase the space and at the same time perform all its functions? Don’t know what to choose for a small room so that the interior does not become a disadvantage?

It is imperative to pay attention not only to the objects themselves, but also to their arrangement. Something can be completely excluded by replacing it with a more modern, multifunctional option. For example, you can not place a massive chest of drawers at all, but put things in a bed with drawers below. All items in the room can be placed on hanging shelves and so on.

A bed with drawers will replace a bulky chest of drawers

A sliding wardrobe will be an excellent replacement for its bulky counterparts; folding tables can serve perfectly for lunch or spending free time. There are a lot of options – you just have to choose the right items for your interior.

To expand the space, you can place furniture around the entire perimeter, and individual bright decorations placed in the corners will help deceive the eye.

Arranging furniture around the perimeter of the room

For small-sized housing, an excellent option would be the high-tech style, which involves a minimal amount of furniture, glossy shiny surfaces (metal, glass, chrome, etc.) and light colors.

High-tech style is perfect for small rooms

Also think about the height of each piece of furniture - it is better to make this parameter the same so that there is no visual clutter.

Also, when choosing cabinets, you should give preference to mirrored doors, because, as we have already found out, a mirror will help achieve the correct expanding effect. And the built-in model will be the most optimal, but more expensive option.

Give preference to a built-in wardrobe with mirrored doors

Choose the lightest materials for furniture that will not overload the room - when choosing a table, chairs, or a magazine piece of furniture, plastic or glass are suitable.

You should also know that taller objects should be placed in the background, and smaller furniture should be moved to the front. This technique also allows you to expand the area of a small room.

Important: in rooms with a minimum amount of space, only the most necessary furnishings should be used. In addition, choose products that match the color and do not create unnecessary contrast. The harmony of shades will make the room visually wider and larger.

To decorate a small room, avoid furniture in contrasting colors.

Wallpaper color that visually expands the room

The rooms in modern apartments are not very large. You can expand the space only visually using original design techniques:

universal method - selection of wall finishes in light colors;
skillful combination of shades and textures.

It is not recommended to use dark colors (burgundy, dark brown, black or dark purple). It is also worth remembering that large motifs and dense small prints visually reduce the space. But such restrictions cannot be considered too categorical, since there are many interesting ways to transform any apartment with the help of colors and textures.

Textiles come to the rescue

When achieving the goal of maximizing the space in the room, one should not forget about such an important detail as properly designed and selected textiles.

In first place, of course, are the curtains. No matter how beautiful heavy and dark drapes and curtains look, they should be abandoned forever, giving preference only to light colors. Textiles gathered in an accordion will help increase the area, but they should be long - reaching to the floor. And the cornices should be chosen wide and up to the ceiling.

Light curtains will not prevent the penetration of sunlight

Tablecloths on tables should be removed and forgotten about until moving to larger spaces. Textiles for the table attract attention, that is, an unnecessary emphasis is placed.

Do you love carpets? Then only light colors and light textures, since carpets with a dark and massive pattern make the room heavier, depriving it of the necessary space. In the bedroom you can lay a carpet on the entire floor, but in other rooms it is better to abandon this idea altogether.

Choose a carpet in light shades

How to choose textiles to visually enlarge the space?

It is necessary to remember that not only the right palette, decoration and furniture can visually expand the space in the apartment. There is another wonderful option - textiles, which cannot be completely deprived of in a residential apartment, because everything around will become boring, rude and office-like.

Transparent curtains and light beige plain curtains make the room design more spacious

Curtains must be translucent or transparent, light and long, and not dark and heavy, hidden in a secret cornice. If the apartment is very sunny and requires thick curtains, then they need to be replaced with roller blinds, which can be easily rolled up in a matter of seconds. Bedspreads should be chosen plain, light and without a printed pattern. You should completely abandon tablecloths so as not to clutter the table with unnecessary items. Carpets, if there is a need for them, then without lush pile and complex patterns, homespun, rug type, covering the entire floor surface.

3D – modern techniques

Designers have long been using this technique to help increase the area of a room. 3D copes with the task perfectly, no worse than mirrors, light, color solutions and all other methods considered.

Wallpaper, suspended ceilings and floors with 3D patterns will help to add volume, and therefore width and height. At the same time, no one will be able to ignore the originality and uniqueness of the style of your room.

3D wallpaper in the bedroom interior

The choice of effect depends only on your imagination, because with this technology the room can easily turn into a dense summer forest, the sea coast or a window overlooking the skyscrapers of New York or another famous metropolis.

Difficulty of choice

Our apartments are very diverse, and the layout directly determines what kind of paintings will be chosen. It's not so easy to bring an interior to life from paper. But any situation can be corrected. If you design the space correctly from the beginning. This will allow you to create even a small but cozy room for living.

But the number of lighting devices will have to be significantly increased, as well as correctly distributed among zones. But you shouldn’t try to achieve a strong contrast - that’s not the goal of the work.

A few final tips

You should summarize all the knowledge gained, and you will be able to cope with the task on your own, without the services of a designer - to visually increase the space in a small room.

Choose colors carefully - only light and preferably cool.

We make wallpaper plain or with a small, infrequently repeating pattern. To increase the height, cover the wall with wallpaper with a vertical pattern.

Wallpaper with a vertical pattern visually elongates the walls

You can use photo wallpaper or murals.

Don't forget to make the windows as wide and large as possible.

Make the windows as wide as possible

Lighting, both artificial and natural, should be maximum. Use practical and modern LEDs.

Mirrors in the room will help make it more spacious.

Mirrors will make the room more spacious

When choosing furniture, we rely on its compactness and versatility.

Textiles should match the color style of the entire room.

Textiles should be in harmony with the interior of the room

Use 3D technologies - flooring, suspended ceilings, wallpaper.

With these tips you will get maximum effect. But you shouldn’t use all the options at the same time - several accents will do the job.

Wallpaper color scheme

The color of wallpaper for small rooms should be selected taking into account its functionality. Ideally, have a color combination table available.

It will help in choosing wallpapers of different colors. Black, white, gold and silver colors can be combined with absolutely any color scheme.
Next to brown, shades of blue, cyan, red and pink are appropriate.
Yellow and orange colors will perfectly complement the green tone.

In a small room, red should be used very carefully, except as an accent. If the choice fell on glossy light wallpaper, then all other surfaces (ceiling, floor) should not be made as such.

Photo wallpaper on the ceiling

Photo wallpapers can move walls apart, if they are chosen correctly, of course. But what to do if you need to raise the ceiling in the room? You can stick suitable ceiling wallpaper. The choice of images, as in the case of wall options, is huge, but if you need to expand the space, it is better to choose the following images:

sky with clouds or stars;
tree crowns;
the tops of skyscrapers;
abstraction, but not all.

All these images visually extend the ceiling boundary beyond the room, and this is what we need. Floral arrangements and frescoes are often a bad option if you need to expand the space.

Ceiling photo wallpapers allow you to create a unique interior, and they have only one drawback - difficulty in gluing.

Ceiling: “increasing” the height

The design of the ceiling affects the perception of the entire room. If the height of the living room walls is small, you will have to abandon complex multi-level structures and dark colors. The lighter the shade chosen, the better.

Avoid the pompous ceiling

A feeling of spaciousness can be created using optical illusions in the form of prints on tension structures. It is better to give preference to a satin or glossy finish, which visually adds dimension to the living room. Matte surfaces look more traditional. But with proper lighting arrangement, they are also capable of “raising” the ceiling.

Simple or complex approaches to solving the issue

Creating an original living room in a small area is very difficult. Non-standard solutions, as well as special techniques, will be used.

The easiest option to “add” space to your living room would be to disassemble a wall (or part of it). In this case, the expansion will be achieved by combining the living room with the kitchen or one of the adjacent rooms.

We choose non-standard solutions

Complex approaches are the embodiment of unusual solutions in the area that was originally allocated for the living room. To do this, play with colors and shades, choose suitable furniture and accessories.

Recommendations

Saving space and its rational use should include the proper arrangement of each item:

It is better to hang the TV on a free wall opposite the sofa;
highlight the window with decoration, but without pomp;
It is advisable to choose thin tulle and avoid heavy curtains;
It is recommended to use Japanese roller blinds;
with a large amount of decor, the design of the walls should be neutral;
It is better to choose a flat aquarium.

VIDEO: Updating the living room design

Living room interior

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